I never once for a second doubted my capabilities while training for the marathon, but yes – I did get ¨jitters¨ the week of. Anytime I thought of running the race, my chest tightened and adrenaline coursed through my veins. Then came race day and it was euphoric, for a lack of better words. I rode the metro with other racers. Camaraderie, a mixture of nerves and sportsmanship filled the air. You could sense it – the anticipation, the adrenaline and the excitement. It was Sunday, the 26th of April and I only found out after the race that the TCS London Marathon took place on the same day. My social media feed would later flood with updates about various public figures participating in the London marathon… Cynthia Erivo being one of the runners, I found out crossed the finish line to the song, ¨Defying Gravity¨. But back to the metro – as all the runners exited the train and made our way toward the exit, people on the street stood in a circle doing a war cry. Thereafter, a few minutes prior to the starting time, ¨Fahrenheit¨ by Queen played as we made our way to the starting points. We all sang in unison and I was overcome with emotion – it washed over me like an ocean tide. I thought to myself, ¨I am really doing this. I just have to keep moving.¨
I realised that the resilience I carried in that marathon would extend to other areas of my life. In the race, when I felt I could not continue, I carried on. I changed my perspective. Because you see, when you are running, inevitably, no matter how hard you trained for the race, something physiological happens somewhere after the 30 km mark. There is a wall, your wall might be different to other peoples´ walls. It might be higher, thicker, or shorter and easier to break through. It might happen at 30km, or 35km… But there does come a point where your body aches and tells you to stop. Maybe you slow down, but you don´t stop. You keep moving forward. You break through that wall. You tell yourself, ¨I am capable. I will conquer.¨ That is exactly what you do.
Our minds are the greatest obstacle. On race day, there came a moment in the race at about 36 km, whereby I said to myself – I am tired now, but I can rest once this is over. I can finish, I can move, I am strong enough to do this. I ran that race alone. Most people ran with family members, their partners, a coach, or their running club. So many small, yet meaningful epiphanies dawned on me. I didn´t have a coach to give me a pacing plan, guidance, or advice. I didn´t have someone waiting for me at the finish line. Nobody made me a sign. But did this take away from my achievement? No. I had myself. I am my greatest asset. My mind is my greatest asset. I don´t need a mentor, a sign, or someone clapping for me to keep on moving forward. I only need to believe in myself. However, with that being said, the strangers who did cheer me on, the children offering their hands for ´high fives of encouragement´, the pedestrians cheering on the sidelines, the smiles, the words ¨keep going¨ – they were beautiful. I carry what I experienced that day with me into all areas of my life in some way (not only work).
It was wonderful to make my ´marathon debut´ in Europe. My younger self, my inner child, would be so delighted, so over the moon and in awe of what my adult self has accomplished. If I could say anything to my teenage self – the thirteen year old who dreamt of travel, of travelling the world and experiencing different cultures – I would say this, ¨Eventually, your dreams do come true, not because of luck, but because you always put in the work to make it happen. You´ve gone through some dark times, but you were so strong and resilient. You never gave up and you worked hard to bring your dreams to life. You are not perfect. You make mistakes, but you are wise, kind, and self-aware. You are still curious. And no – your light, your smile, your energy – it didn´t disappear. The one thing running is teaching you is resilience, but one thing you are still learning is to let go. Most of the worries you are carrying, you can let go of. Oh! You also are learning Spanish, in your true linguistic fashion! You can say some words in Greek – you ran a half-marathon in Athens with a friend from the U.S.A. You have a knack for picking up languages. You still have bibliphilia. You try to create balance in most areas of your life and have an interest of learning about anything (and everything).
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